Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-22


/ required to afford reasonable, proper and
equal facilities. They ara not required
J to afford special, unreasonable, improper
or unequal facilities. This presents
| the question whether the payment OF
/ commissions il i-s5f, or es incidental TO
! the eriGgmen- OF travelling facilities,
/ reasonable ana proper within the purpose
! u the statute. The facility of
/ through tickets is equally offered TO eli
| and may be enjoyed without commits
/ slCEs. Ii the company selling the tickets
! should charge g commission it
( would doubtless be regarded as
! en- imposition and therefore unreasonable
and improper These commissions ere
gratuities 10 induce special efforts for
! the company paying them II the statute
/ does not give one company authority TO
| subsidize the agents Of another
company, and if the prac-
tice is injurious in itself, it
! certainly cannot be reasonable and
! proper. The stGte does not divest the rail
road company Of the exclusive right 10
control its own internal affairs, 20 employ
/ It's own agents, 10 regulate their duties
and t. pGy them such compensation as it
may deem proper. The right OF
ownership Of railroad property with the
!
| and the management Of the property is
as absolute under the act a. before
/ is passage The regulation of com
meICe between the states which IS AL
| that set c0ntemp,ates does not involve
| community OF property or Joint control OF
| su5OTdinetes among these very companies
that honor through tickets. The corporate
powers Of every company for
all administrative and govern
! ing purposes within its prescribed
! spheres remain unimpsired. With the ltgi-
| timate exercise q these powers another
company has no concern and no right TO
! nteTmeddle for the proper government Of
/ their own urCrdinEtes. The defendant
! companies have hidden their agents 20 re-
Ceive commissions from other companies,
ard have directed them not 10 sell over
! the roads OF companies that refuse to
recaguize this CO. operate authority,
but insist On substituting agents.
In these directions the defendants nave
not trlnsconded their reasonable rights.
! Oaa person or corporation has no right
tC interfere with the employees of another
( and the statute does not DISTURB this
Old and sound principle. The
dJf .Cdalts might rest upon their right 10
control the cnlcial c2nduc. of their own
! agents, but they 20 further and show by
evidence the practical effects Of
! 0mmfssi0ns aud inst their natural
ard unusual tendencies sTe to avoid
ABUSES.
The opinion then quotes the testimony
Of an officer Of the Pennsylvania Railroad
ana others to the eject tnat commissions
were used TO corrupt sgents to sell
/ through tickets over the commission pay
ing lines in preference to others, that these
commissions, amounting in average TO
% per cent Of the value of the tickets,
were frequently divided with the
CrimirgLiUn in favor OF the
company which paid commissions,
snd that the agents sometimes received
more money from other companies in this
way than they received from the COM
panias which employed them, and so
passed in measure cut of their
employers control. The opinion contin-
ues "A practice capable of producing,
and having the tendency to produce the
results thus described, cannot be reason
| able CT proper, and TailrO ad company
is fully justified in the use Of all
lawful precsution to protect itself and it's
agents against such invssions of its
CORPORATE authority and It's business nor
atty.
According to the testimony the defend
ants are supported in that position on
this question by very large majority
of connecting roads, showing decided
| prspandersrce Of opinion against the
practice The score CT the com
pleina1ts' position is clearly pre-
serted by the distinct assertion
Of right OF one corporation to employ
aud pay for its own interest aD official
servant Of another corporation TO which
this service is primarily and exclusively
due. theory Of this character ought
not TO be and il not recognized IN
business affairs or Ia official lie. dl-
yidad service between many masters can
not be satisfactory 10 any, and as aesyule
il Injurious TO the person so allied. Il
follows from these vi VS. that defendant
! companies in prohibiting the!E agents
from receiving COMMISSIONS and in re-
fus.ag to sell through tickets over the
roads Of the cOmplainants While
they insist on paying COM
missions TO the deferdanta
agents have not cOnt~Gvened the proFis-
ions # the at. TIE Gtfgndeptse sSas cna-
bly, and fairly offered TO afford SIT rea-
sonable, proper and edQai fsclIT
I lies LOT ilG RECEIVING anu NSllN C-Ius
of passengers to aud nom their
/, several lines and those connecting thsres
with, and did not discriminate in any re
spect between such come cling lines. In
requiring the cessation Of commissions to
their agents when entering into business
arrangements with the connecting roads
the defendants only demand what W as
. reasonable and proper, and the COM
plants by their refusal to refrain from
! paying commissions on tickets issued
by the defendants voluntarily excluded
themselves from the reasonable, proper
and equal facilities offered to them in
common with other connecting lines.
The complGinants are dismissed, ell COZ
curing except Commissioner Morrison.
IN WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON, July 20 The President
and party arrived in Washington st 10
o'clock the morning.
BACK IN WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON, July 20.-President snd
Mrs Cleveland, Secretary end Mrs. Fair
child ard Colonel D. S Lamont arrived
in Washington at so O'Clock this morn
ing. The President sud Mrs. Cleveland
proceeded directly to the White House
and the other members of the party went
to their respective homes They sre in
good health and speak enthusiastically CT
their tour in New York. Though some
what tired the President went to work
soon after reaching the White House.
Most of the day was devoted in consider